We all need essential vitamins and minerals in our diet, which are found in abundance in fresh fruits and vegetables. Unfortunately, the typical American diet is over-processed and offers very little nutrients. Due to this lack in nutrients in the American diet, many people have taken to supplementing their vitamin and mineral needs. Vitamins A, C, E, beta-carotene and selenium are all antioxidants.

It is thought that 2 out of every 10 adults take some form of vitamin supplements, but what if it was found out that taking supplements does not help us stay healthy? What if it was found out that taking supplements actually increased our risk of death?

A recent study from the Cochrane Collaboration, an international, independent collaboration that does extensive, in-depth medical research and summaries, found that taking antioxidant supplements might be harmful to our health. The study was a large, comprehensive, meta-analysis study - the most reliable type of research known to the medical community - and it involved 67 trials and 230,000 people.

They found that while 10.5 percent of people who were taking placebos or nothing at all died during the study, that number was much higher in the group taking antioxidant vitamin supplements, 13.1 percent. That may not seem like a big number, but even so they analyzed the results in a few different ways and came to the conclusion that antioxidant supplementation did in fact increase people's chances of dying. In their analysis they found that beta-carotene, as well as vitamins A and E, were the culprits linked to the results.

The end conclusion was that some vitamins are harmful if taken in high doses. In many of the studies people were taking unusually high doses of supplementation.

While no one is at risk for getting too many vitamins from fresh fruits and vegetables, taking supplements should only be an option if you know that you are lacking a certain nutrient in your diet. It's not healthy to hear about certain studies and start taking supplements without looking at your diet to see if you are already getting enough, just as it is not healthy to take more than the recommended dose.

Unless you are vitamin deficient or a pregnant woman needing vitamin D or folic acid, taking supplemental vitamins is something that should be taken very seriously. Talk to your doctor about your needs and for the best medicine, eat a diet rich in unprocessed, fresh, organic fruits and vegetables.